Category Archives: Supreme Court

Dear Friend—Last week NOM launched a nationwide petition to help our supporters contact six key Democratic US Senators who could be pivotal to the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court. Please add your name today to our petition.

When you sign our petition, NOM will send an email on your behalf to each of the six Democratic Senators we are targeting—Joe Manchin (WV), Heidi Heitkamp (ND), Joe Donnelly (IN), Doug Jones (AL), Claire McCaskill (MO), and Jon Tester (MT)—letting them know that you and countless other Americans want them to vote to support Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. We also will send a copy of the email to each of the Senators' Chief of Staff.

Already, thousands of emails have been generated from NOM supporters but more work needs to be done to keep the pressure on these key Democratic Senators. It's imperative that these Senators hear from us that we expect them to support the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh, a superbly qualified nominee to the US Supreme Court. Please act today to sign our petition.

Normally, a US Senator might not care much about what voters in other states feel about an issue, but in this case each of these Democratic Senators are worried about the impact their confirmation vote might have on their political futures. Each of these Senators is seeking reelection in states carried by Donald Trump so they are worried about alienating the Trump base and conservatives generally. And each are being inundated by leftist activists from across the country urging them to ignore the fact that President Trump was elected in their state in large part because of his promise to appoint Supreme Court Justices like Brett Kavanaugh, people with a proven record of upholding the constitution and refusing to legislate from the bench to impose their own personal viewpoints.

It's critical that these key Democratic Senators hear from NOM's members that we want them to put the interests of voters ahead of the narrow interests of special interest groups on the left and vote to confirm Judge Kavanaugh. Please sign our petition today so that these Senators and their Chiefs of Staff know of your support for Judge Kavanaugh.

Confirming Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court is essential to create a path forward to restoring marriage to our nation's laws. Judge Kavanaugh has been on the federal bench for over a decade and has authored over 300 opinions during that time. He's proven himself to be a solid conservative and constitutionalist, someone who interprets constitutional questions based on the text of the constitution itself and the intent of the framers at the time the provision was crafted. I am convinced that such a judge would never allow something like gay 'marriage' to stand because it is an illegitimate and anti-constitutional concept.

Also, if you are able to make a financial gift, we'd be extremely grateful. We will use your contribution to help reach more Americans to involve them in the battle to confirm Judge Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Dear Friend—President Trump's nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy is one of the most pivotal moments in the fight for marriage. Judge Kavanaugh is a constitutionalist like Antonin Scalia and Neil Gorsuch who believes in interpreting the constitution based on its wording and original meaning. The importance of this nomination to the Supreme Court cannot be overstated. For the first time since the Court illegitimately redefined marriage in the Obergefell decision of 2015, NOM and all marriage supporters will have a clear path forward to restore marriage to our nation's laws.

To ensure that we fully capitalize on the moment at hand, we have launched the Marriage Heroes campaign. Our objective is to recruit individuals who will commit to take specific actions to support the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh so that we have a pro-marriage majority on the Supreme Court. Will you stand with us at this critical time in history as a Marriage Hero? Please sign up today.

As a Marriage Hero, we'll rely on you to help us in a number of critical ways, including:

Participate in calling attention to the true nature of marriage – one man and one woman – through support of our campaign. Click here for more info.

Call and write key US Senators urging them to support confirmation of President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court.

Submit letters and comments to your local newspaper and influential publications supporting the nominee (NOM will provide key talking points along the way).

If you are a user of social media, be an active supporter of the nominee, disseminating key points and rebutting the misinformation that is sure to be generated by the other side (again, we will provide content for you to use).

Band together with friends and allies for periodic public displays of support, such as sign waving events at busy intersections.

Already, hundreds of NOM supporters have stepped up pledging to devote themselves to this cause. They realize we are embarking on the most important period of time in all of NOM's history. With this new Supreme Court nomination, we are poised to have a legitimate opportunity to undo the Obergefell decision in the near future. This is an incredible blessing, something we thank God for.

But securing the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh will not be easy because the left knows full well that this confirmation battle could shape the future of marriage, life, religious liberty and everything we care about for generations to come. The nation has never seen what it is about to witness from the left. They will stop at nothing to derail President Trump's nomination of Judge Kavanaugh.

The few hours we will ask you to devote to winning this confirmation vote will be just a moment compared to the tremendous lasting good that will come from a US Supreme Court that is guided by the constitution and not by the opinion of elites who seek to impose their own views on the American people.

Please act today by signing up to be a Marriage Hero, someone willing to help us as a grassroots champion to do the critical work needed to counter the left and secure a majority of justices on the Supreme Court who will restore marriage, stand for life and protect religious liberty.

As you know, President Trump last night officially nominated Judge Brett M. Kavanaugh to the US Supreme Court. He described Kavanaugh as "a judge's judge" and praised his intellect, legal credentials, judicial record and reputation. Most importantly, President Trump extolled Kavanagh's judicial philosophy saying, "What matters is not a judge’s political views, but whether they can set aside those views to do what the law and the Constitution require. I am pleased to say that I have found, without doubt, such a person."

The National Organization for Marriage (NOM) supports Judge Kavanaugh's nomination and will work hard to secure his confirmation.The reasons we support him are several fold, but include:

He has a philosophy and track record of relying on the text of the Constitution as drafted by the framers and opposes judges inventing "rights" that do not exist in the Constitution itself. He has said, "[R]ead the words of the statute as written. Read the text of the Constitution as written, mindful of history and tradition. Don’t make up new constitutional rights that are not in the text of the Constitution. Don’t shy away from enforcing constitutional rights that are in the text of the Constitution.”

He has a strong record of fighting to protect religious liberty. While in private practice, Kavanaugh chaired the Federalist Society's Religious Liberty Practice Group and fought for the religious liberty rights of people of faith. On a personal level, he is a devout believer in Jesus, an active member of his church, and a volunteer in many faith-based and community groups.

His track record as a judge is as a staunch conservative and, like Justices Scalia and Gorsuch, someone who applies the Constitution and the law as written, not legislating from the bench to impose his own political views. He has over a decade of service on the Court of Appeals, authoring over 300 opinions, and has proven himself to be a man of principle, able to resist pressure from liberal judges and interest groups.

A number of top legal experts for whom we have enormous respect, including the Federalist Society's Leonard Leo and Ed Whalen of the Ethics and Public Policy Institute, sing Judge Kavanaugh's praises as a strong, reliable conservative who can be counted upon to apply the law and the Constitution as written. Their views are echoed by Sarah Pitlyk, a former Kavanaugh law clerk and Special Counsel for the Thomas More Society, a legal group that fights for life, family and religious liberty.

If as a Supreme Court justice, Kavanaugh rules as he says judges should rule ("Don't make up new constitutional rights that are not in the text of the Constitution") then I am confident that he will join an opinion to overturn gay 'marriage' and restore traditional marriage to our nation's laws. Obviously, there is no provision in the text of the Constitution that requires gay 'marriage.' Such a philosophy also suggests that he would be inclined to overturn Roe v Wadesince there is no right to abortion in the Constitution either.

The confirmation process will be brutal, and we need to be ready to fight with everything we have to support Judge Kavanaugh. We need your help. Here's what I am asking you to do:

Join our Marriage Hero campaign agreeing to work at the grassroots level to support the confirmation. This costs nothing other than a little bit of time. You can read more about what's involved here. The bottom line is we need several thousand supporters to step up and help us at the grassroots level in this critical work.

Please consider making a financial donation to NOM to help us maximize our effectiveness. We need to conduct more outreach in critical states represented by Republicans who might waver, and by Democrats in states carried by President Trump. We'll be targeting half a dozen states for additional organizing work, and we need financial support to do so.

This is a tremendously important time for our movement. Now more than ever, we need to rally the American people behind someone who will fight for and defend the Constitution of the United States, and reverse course from the disastrous direction that the liberals have fashioned, using the judicial system to impose policies that are not supported by the Constitution and that take the country in the wrong direction.

Please join with us today by becoming a Marriage Hero, helping to support the confirmation of Judge Kavanaugh at the grassroots level. And if you are able, please consider making a financial contributionof whatever amount you can afford so that we are able to ensure that our campaign is fully functional nationwide, and especially so in key states with potential swing Senators. And if you are active on social media, please constantly promote the campaignto keep the truth about the nature of marriage before the American people.

Dear Friend—Today at 9 PM eastern time, President Trump will announce his nomination of a judge to the US Supreme Court to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy. We believe that any of the candidates rumored to be finalists – Amy Coney Barrett, Brett Kavanaugh, Thomas Hardiman and Raymond Kethledge – would be excellent on our issues. They are all constitutionalists like Antonin Scalia and Neil Gorsuch who believe in interpreting the constitution based on its wording and original meaning. Once the nomination is made, a historic and unprecedented confirmation battle will ensue, the likes of which the nation has never seen. Control of the US Supreme Court for generations to come will be at stake, and cases wrongly decided by prior courts, such as the imposition of gay 'marriage' and unfettered abortion on demand, will be ripe to be overturned.

The importance of this nomination to the Supreme Court cannot be overstated. For the first time since the Court illegitimately redefined marriage in the Obergefell decision of 2015, NOM and all marriage supporters will have a clear path forward to restore marriage to our nation's laws.

To ensure that we fully capitalize on the moment at hand, we are launching the Marriage Heroes campaign. Our objective is to recruit thousands of individuals who will commit to take specific actions to support the confirmation of a Supreme Court justice. We need a massive outpouring from the grassroots to ensure that control of the Supreme Court swings to our side.

As a Marriage Hero, we'll rely on you to help us in a number of critical ways, including:

Participate in calling attention to the true nature of marriage – one man and one woman – through support of our campaign. Click here for more info.

Call and write key US Senators urging them to support confirmation of President Trump's nominee to the Supreme Court.

Submit letters and comments to your local newspaper and influential publications supporting the nominee (NOM will provide key talking points along the way).

If you are a user of social media, be an active supporter of the nominee, disseminating key points and rebutting the misinformation that is sure to be generated by the other side (again, we will provide content for you to use).

Band together with friends and allies for periodic public displays of support, such as sign waving events at busy intersections.

We are about to embark on the most important period of time in all of NOM's history. It's rare for a group like ours to be able to survive when dealt a blow like we were in the illegitimate and anti-constitutional Obergefell ruling redefining marriage. But thanks to you and thousands of others who have stood with us, NOM has not only survived, but thrived. We've had some incredible accomplishments in the Trump era, and with this new Supreme Court nomination, are poised to have a legitimate opportunity to undo the Obergefell decision in the near future.

But securing the confirmation of President Trump's nominee will not be easy because the left knows full well that this confirmation battle could shape the future of marriage, life, religious liberty and everything we care about for generations to come. The nation has never seen what it is about to witness from the left. They will stop at nothing to derail President Trump's nomination.

But as wealthy and influential as LGBT extremists and their allies on the left and in the media may be, they are no match for the grassroots power of those who believe in the sanctity of marriage, the cause of life, and the right of religious liberty.

The few hours we will ask you to devote to winning this confirmation vote will be just a moment compared to the tremendous lasting good that will come from a US Supreme Court that is guided by the constitution and not by the opinion of elites who seek to impose their own views on the American people.

Please act today by signing up to be a Marriage Hero, someone willing to help us as a grassroots champion to do the critical work needed to counter the left and secure a majority of justices on the Supreme Court who will restore marriage, stand for life and protect religious liberty.

Dear Friend—In less than a week, President Trump will announce his nomination of a judge to the US Supreme Court to replace the retiring Anthony Kennedy. There are lots of rumors as to whom the president might select. All of those being prominently mentioned look like they would be excellent on our issues. You can count on the left to vigorously oppose anyone that President Trump might nominate because they know there is a good likelihood that the person he selects will vote to overturn illegitimate, anti-constitutional rulings like Roe v Wade, and the Obergefell case that imposed gay 'marriage' on the nation.

We've got to be ready to do everything in our power to get President Trump's nominee confirmed. This is our moment. For the first time since the Supreme Court redefined marriage in 2015, we finally have a clear path to restoring marriage to our nation's laws. We can't spare any expense or resource in this battle, because it could shape the future of marriage, life, religious liberty and everything we care about for generations to come.

This confirmation battle will be harrowing and not for the faint of heart. The nation has never seen what it is about to witness from the left. They will stop at nothing to derail President Trump's nomination.

The road to confirmation is fraught with peril. Several weak Republicans are already being targeted by the left and the media. They are also working overtime to put pressure on some Democrats who might vote to confirm the nominee. The stakes in this battle just couldn't be higher.

We will soon be announcing a new initiative to help confirm President Trump's nominee. It will represent a maximum effort on our part to support the nominee. But to be successful, we need to raise thousands of dollars in the next week.

Dear Friend—The last couple of weeks have been an absolute whirlwind as we've racked up accomplishment after accomplishment at the US Supreme Court. Let's review:

Two weeks ago we won an incredible victory with the Masterpiece Cakeshop decision from the Supreme Court, which found that Christian baker Jack Phillips was not guilty of discrimination and if anything had been discriminated against by the state of Colorado which had cavalierly dismissed his religious objections to designing a custom 'wedding' cake for a same-sex couple. The Colorado ruling against him was overturned, a great win for supporters of marriage. NOM worked hard on this case to support Jack's rights, and the rights of all people who believe in true marriage.

A week ago, the US Supreme Court vacated the devastating ruling of the Washington State Supreme Court punishing Barronelle Stutzman, a Christian florist and a grandmother, because she declined to create floral arrangements for a same-sex 'wedding' that violates her religious beliefs about marriage. The US Supreme Court directed the state of Washington to reconsider the case in light of its ruling for Jack Phillips. Again, NOM has been a staunch ally of Barronelle Stutzman throughout her ordeal.

Though not related to marriage, the Supreme Court also overturned an insane California law that required pro-life pregnancy centers to post information promoting abortion services available from the state.

Then yesterday, Justice Anthony Kennedy announced his retirement from the Court at the end of July. Kennedy regularly supported pro-abortion decisions, and was the leading justice on the Court pushing the gay agenda, including authoring the illegitimate ruling imposing gay 'marriage' on the nation.

I can't but feel that there is a move of the Holy Spirit at work here. Not only did we achieve these great victories even with Anthony Kennedy on the Court, we have a realistic likelihood that President Trump will nominate a staunch conservative, someone like Justice Neil Gorsuch who is pro-life and pro-marriage, and who believes the constitution means what it says and cannot be used as a tool to advance a political agenda. Once that happens, here is what the future could look like in just a few years:

There would be a realistic path to restoring traditional marriage to our nation's laws as we would have a majority of justices who agree that the Obergefell ruling was illegitimate and without legal basis.

Similarly, there would be a realistic path to overturning Roe v. Wade and its progeny, ending the scourge of abortion on demand in every state in the union.

The importance of this upcoming fight to receive the nomination of a true conservative like Gorsuch, and then the confirmation fight simply cannot be overstated. I am asking you to take two simple, but important and concrete steps to help at this critical moment in history:

Please post this image on all your social media accounts, and share it with your friends and contacts. NOM's & Campaignis a great way to protest the illegitimate imposition of gay 'marriage,' which happened three years ago this week, while reinforcing the core element of marriage – it is the union of one man and one woman. You can download the & Campaign image here.

Please make an immediate donation to NOM so that we can marshal the resources we need to fight for a new justice, someone with the intellect and judicial philosophy to uphold the constitution and overturn Obergefelland Roe.

We are entering one of the most important periods of time in each of our lives. This is one of those rare occurrences which rise far above the normal clatter of political causes to assume a position of monumental importance in history. In this moment, we have the power to change the direction of our entire nation. We have the ability to powerfully push back against cultural insanity that is destroying the American values gifted us by the Judeo-Christian tradition.

I can't think of a more important time in my life to pour everything into winning this upcoming fight over control of the Supreme Court. It's certainly the most important battle in NOM's history, and we are going to do everything we possibly can to be victorious in seeing a conservative, constitutionalist jurist replace Justice Kennedy on the Court.

In a major announcement that could change everything about how the US Supreme Court looks at marriage, religious liberty, life and gender, Justice Anthony Kennedy has just announced that he will retire from the US Supreme Court at the end of July. President Trump has pledged to begin the process of selecting a replacement immediately.

It is impossible to overstate the importance of this moment. If President Trump nominates someone like Neil Gorsuch, which we will strongly urge him to do, and the nominee is confirmed by the Senate, then we will go from a 5-4 split that redefined marriage to a 5-4 pro-marriage majority. It will give us a legitimate opportunity to remove the lie of same-sex 'marriage' that was illegitimately imposed on the nation. A constitutionalist like Gorsuch replacing Kennedy also will greatly strengthen legal recognition of a vast array of religious liberty rights, not to mention the pro-life cause, and the fight for recognition of the truth of gender.

Anthony Kennedy, frequently called the "swing vote" on the Court, was a disaster on many of the issues we care most about. He wrote the majority opinion in Obergefell, imposing gay 'marriage' on the country. He also joined in many pro-abortion rulings over the years, and was a leader in creating special gay "rights" in the law.

We are going to have a huge fight on our hands.

First, we need to encourage President Trump to nominate someone who, like Neil Gorsuch, is in the mold of the late Antonin Scalia, a justice who will apply the original meaning of the constitution as written, and not attempt to mold the constitution to suit his or her own agenda.

Second, once the right nominee has been put forward, we will have a titanic fight to secure his or her confirmation. Control of the Supreme Court will be at stake, so you can bet that the left will devote everything they have to defeating a conservative nominee.

We will be announcing plans in the next day or two to engage you and all of NOM's members in this momentous fight. In the meantime, please act immediately with an emergency donation so that we can aggressively fight for the nomination and confirmation of a justice who will uphold the constitution and restore marriage to our nation's laws.

There are just two official "decision days" left on the 2018 Supreme Court calendar. There are some important cases for the Court yet to decide, but there is a decision we are awaiting that is even bigger than any current pending case – the decision by Justice Anthony Kennedy whether to retire from the Supreme Court.

Why is that so important? Because Kennedy has been the swing vote on so many cases, including the illegitimate Obergefell decision that he authored imposing gay 'marriage' on the nation. If Kennedy retires as many people expect, it will set off one of the most consequential battles of our lifetime. NOM will need to devote every waking hour and deploy every available resource to impacting the nomination and confirmation process.

We've enjoyed a close relationship with the Trump administration and have had considerable success in pushing our issues with them. But the battle over the next Supreme Court vacancy will be the biggest test yet of whether President Trump will fight for the constitution and nominate someone like Antonin Scalia or Neil Gorsuch to replace Kennedy should he retire.

We think President Trump will nominate someone in the Scalia/Gorsuch tradition, and if he does we need to do everything we can to secure the confirmation of that nominee. But we have to realize that Mr. Trump will be under tremendous pressure from Democrats and the media to nominate someone in the mold of Anthony Kennedy, and we can't stand for that. If he succumbs to that pressure, we have to do everything we can to scuttle the nomination and prevent that nominee's confirmation.

The drama over the potential Kennedy retirement is just one of many reasons why the success of the mid-year membership drive we are completing is so critically important. Thanks to a faithful supporter, every gift we receive until midnight tomorrow night will be matched dollar for dollar. This is a tremendous blessing, but we are way behind our goal and time is running out. Will you make an immediate membership contribution of $35 or more knowing that whatever you give will be matched dollar for dollar?

We have just about a day and a half left in this critical matching campaign, and we've got a huge challenge in front of us. We are about $25,000 short of our goal, and we're running out of time. It would be an absolute tragedy to leave even a dollar on the table given the importance of the work we are in the midst of and the historic significance of a possible Anthony Kennedy retirement from the Supreme Court.

Please take a moment to put the situation we face into context, considering what LGBT extremists thought would be happening in 2018. These people were sure that Hillary Clinton would be president, that she would advance their extreme agenda by way of aggressive executive action, and that she would remake the Supreme Court in her hard-core leftist image, cementing their victories on marriage, life and gender, and even advancing them.

Instead, primarily because of the support provided to Donald Trump by people of faith, the environment has totally changed. With the election of Donald Trump, we are unraveling the Obama/Clinton agenda, dismantling policies like transgender bathrooms in public schools and transgenders serving in the military, and advancing strong religious liberty protections for people of faith. And if Anthony Kennedy retires as many people expect – we could quite literally get his decision within two weeks – we can remake the Supreme Court in a conservative, constitutionalist mold.

Think about what that could mean – reversing Obergefell and restoring marriage to our nation's laws, reversing Roe v Wade and upholding pro-life policies, enhancing legal rulings to protect religious liberty, etc., etc. These are game-changing issues that could shape the nation for generations to come.

So much is on the line, and time is short. We’ve got to raise $25,000 by midnight tomorrow night, a big undertaking.

Hundreds of people have responded to this critical mid-year pledge drive, and I am very grateful to each and every one of them. If you have already given, thank you! But even if you've contributed once, I'm asking you to consider an additional sacrificial gift today. I pray that you and every NOM member will step up and respond to our needs as the hour approaches that will mark the end of this matching gift opportunity.

PS—I also ask you to say a prayer that the US Supreme Court will grant review in the Baronelle Stutzman/Arlene's Flowers case. This is the 70-year old grandmother who politely declined to participate in a same-sex 'wedding' that violates her Christian religious beliefs about the nature of marriage. She has been targeted by the despicable Attorney General of Washington State, Bob Ferguson, who has weaponized same-sex 'marriage' to target Baronelle and every other person of faith. The Court could decide whether to accept her case this Thursday, or the following Thursday. Please pray that they intervene to stop this injustice and stop her outrageous persecution.

As you know, we won a major victory this week when the US Supreme Court issued their ruling in the critically important Masterpiece Cakeshop case. The Court ruled in favor of Christian baker Jack Phillips, holding that the state of Colorado inappropriately gave short shrift to his religious liberty rights not to be compelled to participate in a same-sex 'wedding' that violated his deeply help religious beliefs. This is a big win for marriage supporters, but much more needs to be done to build on this decision.

The best part of the Supreme Court's 7-2 ruling was that the justices found that people of faith are entitled to have their religious beliefs considered respectfully and fully, and fairly weighed against state laws that purport to require them to violate their beliefs in order to comply with state non-discrimination laws. To do otherwise, as the state of Colorado did in Jack Phillips' case, violates the constitution's free exercise of religion guarantee.

It is hugely significant that a strong majority of the US Supreme Court has acknowledged that acting on one's religious beliefs in opposition to gay 'marriage,' is a protected view and in some cases a "protected form of expression." Ever since the Supreme Court illegitimately imposed gay 'marriage' on the nation, LGBT activists and their allies have taken the position that it was illegal for a business or individual to distinguish between gay 'marriage' and traditional marriage for any reason, religious or otherwise. The Supreme Court has now clearly said such a perspective is wrong. Opposing gay 'marriage' can be a "protected form of expression."

Unfortunately, the Supreme Court wrote their decision in such a way that it primarily applies to Jack Phillips' case. So while we are thrilled for Jack – NOM worked overtime to help him, including rallying public attention to his cause and filing a critical legal brief with the Court – many of the issues at play were left for another case to be decided at some point in the future.

What this means is that we should savor our victory, but we must get immediately back to work to fight for the broad principle that the US constitution prohibits government from punishing anyone who sincerely opposes gay 'marriage' because it violates his or her religious beliefs.

NOM is in the midst of a critical mid-year membership drive, and we need your help now more than ever. Thanks to a faithful supporter, every membership gift we receive until the middle of the month will be matched dollar for dollar – a tremendous blessing. Will you make an immediate membership contribution of $35 or more knowing that whatever you give will be matched dollar for dollar?

I want to share something that many may find to be impolitic and indiscrete, but it's the truth:

Unless and until we win a decisive victory in the courts or in Congress and state legislatures, we will be at risk of financial and reputational ruin at the hands of gay and lesbian activists. That's because it's obvious that nothing short of our total destruction will satisfy the LGBT advocacy crowd.

I've written to you on multiple occasions about countless examples of people of faith being targeted by LGBT activists for punishment and persecution. Jack Phillips is just one of many. There are so many others similarly situated – florists, photographers, innkeepers, restaurant owners, manufacturers, small businesses, bed and breakfast operators, pastors, wedding venues, art gallery owners, etc., ad infinitum.

The string of examples of LGBT targeting can be numbing, and the personal devastation that often ensues lost in the process. But make no mistake about it – those impacted are often ruined. Their reputations are destroyed. They are made to feel as if they are criminals. Their finances, and futures, are bankrupted.

But even that understates the true impact of the LGBT jihad against people of faith who support traditional marriage.

NOM is the only organization in the country that is 100% dedicated to fighting for the truth of marriage and the protection of the rights of marriage supporters. We are counter-cultural, operating against powerful interest groups like the grossly-misnamed Human Rights Campaign and mega-wealthy corporations who have joined the opposition in order to curry favor with LGBT activists.

Let me share with you an example of how personal, and how nasty, the fight for marriage and the rights of marriage supporters has become.

A few years ago, NOM held a rally for marriage in Providence, Rhode Island. It was one of several pro-marriage rallies we held that summer. I was speaking to several hundred supporters about the beauty of marriage, the ideal institution God created to bring the two halves of humanity together to raise children, when an angry gay activist stormed the stage and confronted me, trying to commandeer the microphone, screaming angry, violent threats.

The Providence police did nothing.

A few minutes later, my beautiful wife Sue was approached by some gay activists as she was caring for our young children. One of them menacingly looked at my young daughter and spoke to her, "Is mommy raising a good little bigot?"

I know that many in the conservative movement are of the view that we need to find a "compromise" with LGBT activists. They speak of seeking "balance" in legislative proposals, and public policy debates.

But let me tell you something, when your political opponents seek nothing short of your total destruction, there is no compromise possible, there is no balance to be achieved. I wish this weren't the situation we faced, but it is.

We will never shy away from this fight. We will never shirk our responsibility to fight for the restoration of marriage to our national laws, or stop our urgent pursuit of protections for marriage supporters so they are not punished or persecuted by LGBT sympathizers in government, academia, or the corporate world.

Time is short to take advantage of this incredible matching gift opportunity. Please act today.

Gorsuch was part of the majority in the Trinity Lutheran case which held that states may not arbitrarily deny churches access to public funds they make available to other nonprofit groups. Moreover, he wrote a separate opinion in the case forcefully arguing for a proper understanding of, and respect for, true religious liberty, which is the guarantee to freely exercise one's religious beliefs, not merely hold such beliefs. This understanding of religious liberty is a critical factor in stopping the discrimination that people of faith are routinely facing because of their beliefs about marriage and other issues.

Justice Gorsuch dissented in a case where the majority of the Court decided to force the state of Arkansas to list a non-biological LGBT parent on a child's birth certificate. The majority of the Court relied on the Obergefell decision redefining marriage. That Justice Gorsuch was interested in a full hearing and argument of the Arkansas case where the reliance on Obergefell could be challenged is very encouraging.

Finally, with Justice Gorsuch now on the bench, the US Supreme Court has granted review in a critical religious liberty case with far-reaching implications for every person who believes that marriage is the union of one man and one woman. The state of Colorado has punished Christian baker Jack Phillips, owner of Masterpiece Cakeshop, for refusing to use his artistic talents to support a gay "wedding" because doing so violates his faith. This case will offer a tremendous opportunity to stop the ongoing governmental persecution of anyone who does not endorse the LGBT agenda.

While a relative small number of decisions by a justice does not necessarily signal how the justice will rule on other important cases, the actions of Justice Gorsuch thus far gives us great confidence that he has the integrity and the courage to reverse the illegitimate Obergefell decision redefining marriage should such an opportunity come before him.

And such an opportunity could very well come before him sooner rather than later.

While Justice Anthony Kennedy did not announce his resignation from the Court as many had speculated he would do, he or any of the other justices who imposed gay 'marriage' on the nation could retire at any time. And when they do, we will need to fight for the appointment of a Gorsuch-like replacement, someone who is committed to reading the constitution as it was originally constructed, and not reconstructing the meaning of the constitution to suit a personal agenda.

As we approach the Easter holiday, it's a good time to pause and take stock in the year thus far. It's been a busy first few months for all of us at NOM, one filled with many great victories and important accomplishments, and a few disappointments as well.

The election of Donald Trump has turned our political system upside down, as the policies of the left that were so aggressively pursued by Barack Obama are now being unwound. We are working to encourage the Trump administration to pursue pro-family, commonsense policies, and we've been pleased with many of the President's actions including his reversal of Obama's illegal transgender bathroom edict that was forced on children in the nation's public schools.

But we also are committed to holding President Trump accountable, and did so when he erroneously said that the redefinition of marriage was "settled law." We know, and you do as well, that the illegitimate, anti-constitutional ruling of the Supreme Court redefining marriage is far from settled, and we will never rest until that injustice is corrected.

We also are continuing to press President Trump to fulfill his repeated campaign promises to protect the religious liberty of people of faith. He should issue an executive order to do so, and a video we produced urges him to do just that.

The past couple of weeks brought us two major developments. First, our #FreeSpeechBus tour was a tremendous success in highlighting the truth of gender, that it is based on biology not emotions, and showcasing the ugly intolerance of those who falsely assert that gender can be changed to suit desires and feelings. Our team worked very hard to highlight these issues, and had to contend with violent protestors, property damage, physical confrontations and even assaults. We are so fortunate to have such a dedicated team who have the courage to speak truth to power.

The second big development, of course, was the confirmation of Justice Neil Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court. A proven pro-family conservative, Justice Gorsuch will admirably fill the shoes of the late Antonin Scalia, and continue his intellectual and principled defense of the constitution and a judicial philosophy of originalism and textualism. With Justice Gorsuch on the Court, we are likely just one vote away from restoring marriage to our nation's laws. Whenever the next opening on the Court occurs, NOM will be there fighting for a conservative justice just as we did in fighting to secure the confirmation of Justice Gorsuch.

We have accomplished a great deal together this year, but there is a great deal more that we must address. Next week we will be announcing a critically important fundraising push to help ensure that we can recoup the resources we've expended during this frenetic first few months of the year, and secure the funds we need to be effective going forward.

In the meantime, we hope you have an opportunity to take a break and spend time with your family this week in prayer and reflection. The resurrection of Christ is the most consequential event in all of human history. It's what gives us hope, what gives us strength. We have read the book, and we know how this all ends. We're on the right side of history when it comes to fighting for our issues, and we're on the right side of eternity as well.

Marriage Supporter — In both a private swearing in at the US Supreme Court building, and in a public Rose Garden ceremony at the White House, Neil M. Gorsuch became the 113th Justice of the United States Supreme Court this morning. He swore his oath on a family bible with his wife, Louise, and his two children at his side.

In the private swearing in conducted by Chief Justice John Roberts, Gorsuch was accompanied by Maureen Scalia, widow of the late Justice Antonin Scalia whom Justice Gorsuch replaces, along with Eugene Scalia, one of the late justice's children. The public ceremony was officiated by Justice Anthony Kennedy, for whom Gorsuch once served as a law clerk, and attended by President Donald J. Trump.

It is an amazing day to see this giant of the law and proven pro-family conservative confirmed to our nation's highest Court. You should be proud of the role that you and thousands of NOM members played in helping secure Justice Gorsuch's confirmation.

NOM did everything we could, and expended substantial funds, to promote the confirmation of Justice Gorsuch, and it's incredibly rewarding to savor this victory. But we cannot rest on this accomplishment and must ready ourselves for battles that are already taking shape.

It was just a few months ago that the media was telling us we'd never experience what we are experiencing today. That's because Hilary Clinton was supposed to have been elected, according to all the media pundits, and we were in store for years of more uber-liberal judicial appointments.

Instead, Justice Gorsuch is the first of what could be several conservative appointments to the US Supreme Court from President Trump. The next nomination could come in just a matter of months. Justice Gorsuch was one of several judges on a list of conservative jurists from which President Trump has pledged all his picks will come. If that holds true — and we believe it will — it is possible that in short order we could have a majority of judges on the Court who would reverse the illegitimate Obergefell ruling redefining marriage.

Marriage Supporter — I've got some great news -- Neil Gorsuch has just been confirmed by the Senate as the newest member of the US Supreme Court!

We did it! Thanks to you and so many NOM members and conservative activists across the country, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was able to muster the votes to change Senate rules to allow the Gorsuch confirmation to move forward, and Justice Gorsuch won a bipartisan majority. He now will join the Supreme Court as a worthy successor to the late, great Antonin Scalia.

This development is a huge boost for NOM and for the prospects of restoring true marriage to our nation's laws by reversing the illegitimate, anti-constitutional Obergefell ruling of 2015 redefining marriage. Justice Gorsuch shares Justice Scalia's judicial philosophy and we are confident he will rule to overturn the illegitimate marriage decision.

That means we are likely only one vote short of reinstating marriage in our nation, with rumors flying that another Court vacancy could occur soon with the retirement of one of the justices who voted to redefine marriage!

I am so grateful to the nearly 10,000 NOM members who grabbed an oar and actively worked with us to support Justice Gorsuch's confirmation. Please join me in praying for him, and for all the judges on the Supreme Court, that they be given wisdom and discernment to rule on cases based on the law and the constitution as it exists, not based on their own personal opinion of what the law and constitution should be.

This great victory shows what we can accomplish together. I look forward to many more victories this year, and in years to come!

Marriage Supporter — Judge Neil Gorsuch is one of the most qualified, accomplished judges ever to be nominated to the US Supreme Court. The legal community, including the American Bar Association, has resoundingly praised his intellect, temperament and judicial record. Despite this, Democrats have pledged to mount a partisan filibuster to deny him confirmation, the first time in the history of the nation that the filibuster has been used in a partisan manner to derail a Supreme Court nomination. That is why it is time for the US Senate to change the rules, invoking the so-called "nuclear option" so that Supreme Court nominees are confirmed on a straight up or down vote, just as judicial nominees to lower federal courts are confirmed.

Judge Neil Gorsuch is an extraordinary nominee to our highest Court, an intellectual giant and a proven pro-family conservative. It is imperative that he be confirmed to our highest Court.

We are very pleased with the outstanding leadership that Senator Mitch McConnell has exhibited in managing the Gorsuch confirmation. He has tried his best to develop a bi-partisan coalition in support of Judge Gorsuch – and three Democrats have said they will vote to confirm him. But because of the partisan intransigence of so many Senate Democrats and their commitment to mount the first ever partisan filibuster of a Supreme Court nominee, Senator McConnell must now move forward to lead the Senate in changing its rules so that Gorsuch, and all future Supreme Court nominees can be confirmed on a straight majority vote.

The Gorsuch confirmation vote is scheduled for Friday. It's imperative that Senator McConnell and every sitting Senate Republican know that you want Judge Gorsuch confirmed to the US Supreme Court. That's why I am asking that in addition to contacting your Senators, please urgently sign NOM's petition. Senator McConnell will be immediately notified that you are in his corner in urging the confirmation of Judge Gorsuch.

As you know, the path to reversing the illegitimate, anti-constitutional ruling of the Supreme Court redefining marriage begins with the confirmation of Judge Gorsuch.
Please sign our petition adding your name in support of confirming Judge Gorsuch to the Supreme Court.

Faithfully,

PS – After you contact your US Senators to urge them to support Judge Gorsuch, then sign our petition adding your name urging Senator McConnell and his Republican members to "go nuclear" to secure Judge Gorsuch's confirmation. Thank you!

To say that Donald Trump has hit a home run with his nomination of Judge Neil Gorsuch to the US Supreme Court is an incredible understatement. From every indication, Judge Gorsuch is an intellectual giant and proven pro-family conservative who can help transform the Court. At the age of 49, he has the potential of leading the Supreme Court in a conservative direction for a generation to come.

I hope you have taken action to support Judge Gorsuch's nomination to the Supreme Court by signing our petition urging Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to move quickly to confirm Judge Gorsuch so that he can begin to transform our highest court from an activist judiciary to one that respects the plain reading of the constitution and faithfully applies our laws.

I want to make sure that you have a good understanding of Judge Gorsuch's qualifications, demeanor and judicial philosophy, and understand what an incredible choice he is for the Supreme Court.

First of all, Judge Gorsuch is a loving husband and devoted father. He and his wife, Louise, were college sweethearts, having met at Oxford University. They have two daughters, both teenagers, and they live in Neil's home town of Boulder, Colorado. He is an outdoorsman, hiker, skier and fisherman. The family has a small homestead and raise horses, chickens and goats.

The judge is a man of deep Christian faith. Gorsuch has served as an usher at his church, while his wife frequently leads the intercessory prayer and reads the weekly scripture. His daughters have both served as acolytes.

While Judge Gorsuch's traditional and conservative faith is certainly important in his life, his judicial philosophy is as a constitutionalist and textualist and he has assiduously avoided allowing his own personal opinions to color his judicial interpretation of what statutes and the constitution actually provide. This is very much in line with Justice Scalia's approach to the law.

Judge Gorsuch has never ruled directly on the question of whether the US constitution compels every state in the nation to license same-sex 'marriages,' but he has spoken out quite critically of liberals using the courts, rather than the democratic process, to advance their agenda, specifically criticizing their push in the courts for gay 'marriage.' This gives me great hope that he would reverse the Obergefell decision redefining marriage if given the opportunity.

There are other indications that at his core Judge Gorsuch is a true conservative. As a student at Columbia, Gorsuch co- founded a conservative newspaper (The Federalist) and magazine (The Morningside Review) to counter the predominance of liberal political views on campus. He reportedly personally penned an article in defense of conservative political philosophy.

Judge Gorsuch has also established himself as a principled voice in support of life, particularly in the context of opposing assisted suicide and euthanasia, writing that human life is intrinsically valuable and that intentional killing is always wrong. This gives pro-life advocates strong encouragement that Gorsuch would reverse Roe v Wade if given the opportunity.

In 2006, Mr. Gorsuch was appointed by George W. Bush to the Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit, and he was unanimously confirmed by the US Senate in a voice vote. While on the Court of Appeals, Mr. Gorsuch distinguished himself as a reliably conservative justice even in the face of withering advocacy by the media and the left. For example, in the area of religious liberty, he ruled in two high-profile cases (Hobby Lobby and Little Sisters of the Poor) that the Obama administration could not force employers with strong religious views to violate their faith beliefs.

Judge Gorsuch has a brilliant mind and is a deep thinker, an intellectual with a flair for the written word to express his impeccable reasoning. He is a graduate of Columbia, Harvard Law School (where he was a classmate with Barack Obama) and Oxford University (which I attended as well, though not while Mr. Gorsuch was a student). While at Oxford, he studied under the legendary natural law legal philosopher John Finnis. The scholarly book he wrote condemning assisted suicide was published by Princeton University Press as part of a book series edited by our great friend and supporter, Professor Robert P. George (himself a student and disciple of Finnis).

Because of his intellectual gravitas and formidable writing skills, Judge Gorsuch will likely play an outsized role on the Supreme Court, again, very much in the mold of Justice Scalia. Like Scalia before him, he also can be expected to inspire a whole new generation of conservative scholars and lawyers to understand the importance of upholding the plain meaning of the constitution and our statutes, rejecting the incessant invitation of liberals to "interpret" them so as to advance a particular agenda.

In sum, Judge Neil Gorsuch is an extraordinary nominee to the US Supreme Court. We have confidence that he will be a proud and effective heir of Justice Scalia's enormous legacy, someone deeply committed to applying the text and original meaning of the constitution to the questions at hand. This gives us great hope that he will vote to reverse the anti-constitutional, illegitimate ruling of the Court imposing gay 'marriage' on the nation, and restore marriage to our nation's laws.

PS — It's important that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell hear from every NOM member that we stand in support of Judge Gorsuch and call on the US Senate to expeditiously confirm his nomination to the US Supreme Court. Please sign our petition today.